CAREER: The role of language in children's acquisition of number concepts

这项拟议的五年计划旨在调查3-5岁儿童数字的符号和非符号表征之间的联系，以及语言在促进从近似数字意义到精确数字系统转换方面的作用。基本的研究问题如下：符号和非符号数字系统的发展是在学龄前几年同时发生的吗？在儿童早期阶段，这两种数字表征系统都在动态变化，但这些发展之间的关联程度以及约束它们的潜在机制目前尚不清楚。本研究将从以下三个方面进行研究：(1)学龄前儿童符号数字表征与非符号数字表征的相关分析；(2)口聋儿童数字表征的发展解释；(3)幼儿注意从物体向集合转移的发展解释。每年将进行各种带有假设的实证检验，包括研究(1)的纵向研究。拟议的教育活动包括：(1)为幼儿教育工作者和聋人教育工作者举办关于数字发展的教师年度讲习班；(2)本科生暑期奖学金方案；(3)在聋人学前班开发和教授顶峰课程；以及确定进一步评估和传播聋人至重听儿童学前数学方案的机制。重要的是要知道聋哑儿童在学龄前水平的数学技能上是否有延迟，因为这样的延迟可能会让原本聪明的儿童走上一条远离学校和其他环境下最佳数学学习的道路。这些知识可以直接转化为干预措施，缩小聋人和听力障碍学生在STEM学科中的成绩差距。拟议的项目将通过在儿童进入正式教育环境之前提高我们对数学学习基础的知识来影响STEM教育。这些研究将有助于我们理解：(1)学龄前儿童如何获得数字概念；(2)语言在数字概念发展中起什么作用；(3)语言延迟如何影响数字概念的发展。更广泛地说，该项目调查了符号系统(如语言)在发展过程中如何与非符号系统(如数量表示法)相互作用。此外，这项工作将提供一个亟需的分析，在年轻的聋人或重听儿童的数字发展，因为聋人的算术研究很少延伸到学龄前年龄。这项拟议的工作将使我们更好地了解幼儿的数字概念发展，这有望有助于制定适当和有效的学前课程，以支持未来的数学学习。拟议的项目还包括本科生研究人员的参与以及与幼儿教师和从业者的合作。

The proposed five-year project seeks to investigate the connections between symbolic and nonsymbolic representations of number and the role of language in facilitating the transformation from approximate number sense to exact numerical systems in 3- to 5-year old children. The basic research question is as follows: Do developments in symbolic and non-symbolic number systems occur in tandem during the preschool years? Both systems of numerical representation are dynamically changing during this period of early childhood, but the extent to which these developments are correlated and the underlying mechanisms that bind them are currently not known. The following three lines of studies will be investigated: (1) Correlational analysis of symbolic and non-symbolic number representations in preschoolers; (2) Developmental account of numbers in oral-deaf children, and; (3) Developmental account of attentional shifts from objects to sets in young children. Various empirical tests with hypotheses will be conducted annually, including a longitudinal study in the case of study (1). The proposed educational activities include: (1) annual workshops for teachers on number development for both early childhood educators and educators of the deaf; (2) summer fellowship program for undergraduate students; (3) development and teaching of a capstone course at a preschool for the deaf, and; identification of mechanisms to further evaluate and disseminate preschool mathematics programs for deaf to hard-of-hearing children. It is important to know whether deaf children are delayed on preschool-level math skills, because such a delay could entrench otherwise bright children on a path away from optimal mathematical learning in school and other contexts. This knowledge can directly translate into interventions that reduce the well-documented achievement gap between deaf and hearing students in STEM disciplines.The proposed project will impact STEM education by advancing our knowledge of the foundations of mathematical learning before children enter formal educational settings. The studies will advance our understanding of: (1) how preschool children acquire number concepts; (2) what role language plays in the development of number concepts, and; (3) how language delays impact the development of number concepts. More broadly, the project investigates how symbolic systems (like language) interact with non-symbolic systems (like quantity representations) over the course of development. In addition, this work will provide a much needed analysis of number development in young deaf or hard-of-hearing children because studies of numeracy in the deaf rarely extend to the preschool ages. The proposed work will provide us with a better understanding of conceptual development of number in young children, which hopefully will contribute to the development of appropriate and effective preschool curricula to support future mathematical learning. The proposed project also includes participation by undergraduate researchers and collaborations with early childhood teachers and practitioners.